Randy Benderson: Continuing the Benderson Legacy

Randy Benderson is the youngest of three boys. At the young age of 16, Randy’s father, Nathan Benderson, built Fun N’Games Amusement Park; Randy was tasked to manage all operations and head the seasonal company. Randy would later team up with his father, helping lead one of the country’s national commercial real estate firms.

If there’s one thing Randy Benderson inherited from his late father, real estate powerhouse Nathan Benderson, it would be his passion and impressive work ethic. However, there’s more to his father’s legacy than running one of the region’s largest real estate development companies. To this day, Randy Benderson continues to honor and support the charitieshis great father had cared about, taking them up as his own.

Jewish-related Charities That Alleviate Poverty

Among the causes Randy Benderson focuses on are Jewish-related charities that alleviate poverty. When his father was still at the helm of Benderson Development Co. he was awarded the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award by The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies in 2004 for his extraordinary generosity, service, and community commitment. The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies is a not-for-profit public charity that aims to provide for the quality and continuity of Jewish life in Western New York. The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor the charity can bestow and Randy Benderson is committed to keeping his father’s legacy alive by seeking ways to help and provide significant contributions to the Jewish community in Buffalo.

Support for the Community and the Elderly

Randy Benderson was greatly influenced by his father to help charities that support the elderly as well. Some of these charities are JCC Buffalo, or the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo, The Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo, and the Israel Bonds Organization. At JCC Buffalo, Randy’s father helped develop the Weinberg senior living campus. These senior programs are now up and running at the Benderson Village. The Jewish Community Center also named a campus after him in Amherst. Meanwhile, The Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo created a leadership award in honor of his father, the Nathan Benderson Leadership Award. Randy Benderson aspires to become an active patron of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Food Bank of Western New York and Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, just like his father was.

Rescue Animals

Finally, Randy Benderson is also keenly interested in supporting causes that rescue animals. His father was a major benefactor of the Buffalo Zoo. Additionally, he put up Nate’s Place in 2007 by converting a prime storefront spot near their corporate headquarters in University Shoppes. Nate’s Place is an animal adoption center that rescues and places as many as 1,000 animals a year. Having worked closely with his father from a young age, Randy Benderson knows intimately how much his father had a

soft spot for animals. As such, animal adoptions as an advocacy resonate strongly in Randy Benderson.

Other causes and charities the Benderson family, including father-son tandem Nathan and Randy

Benderson have supported are SPCA Serving Erie County, Variety Club, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.